As the FT reports this morning: Lawyers are scrambling to file compensation claims against advisers who sold tax-saving schemes that have backfired to leave an estimated £5bn bill for individuals. It would seem that some of those who have been sold abusive tax schemes that may not work are not happy. And when the rich aren’t happy Read the Rest…

In 2007 I wrote a Code of Conduct for Taxation for the Tax Justice Network and Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs. The Code of Conduct was just 2 pages long. It had six headings, each of which contains three statements of principle. In combination, these presented what we thought a clear summary of our thinking, and it set out Read the Rest…

What the PAC report on HMRC’s management of the tax affairs of large corporations has shown is that tax management has become an ethics free zone. That need not be the case. I argued very strongly for a Code of Conduct for tax a couple or so years ago, and as a result drafted the Tax Justice Network and Association for Accountancy and Business Read the Rest…

The National Audit Office has issued a report saying: In a report to Parliament today, the National Audit Office affirms that good tax agents help their clients get their tax right. But, according to an analysis carried out by the NAO of a sample of tax returns, self-assessed income tax returns filed by customers represented Read the Rest…

HM Revenue & Customs has launched its new Charter. The full text is here. The summary is: Your rights What you can expect from us: Respect you Help and support you to get things right Treat you as honest Treat you even-handedly Be professional and act with integrity Tackle people who deliberately break the rules Read the Rest…

The FT has noted: Banks and their advisers have hit back at the government’s proposals to crack down on tax avoidance, claiming a new code of conduct would damage the competitiveness of the sector. The Treasury’s proposed voluntary code to curb avoidance by banks was also lambasted as potentially unconstitutional and discriminatory in strongly worded Read the Rest…

My own profession can disgust me. Lawyers take the prize making nauseous though. Take this: Opportunity for offshore account holders to slash the cost of using HMRC’s new “tax amnesty” Qualifying UK taxpayers advised to open a Liechtenstein bank account before making a disclosure More generous “tax amnesty” for offshore accounts opened locally rather than Read the Rest…

The predictable response to the new Banking Code has arrived. Accountancy Age has reported: Michael Wistow, head of tax at City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said that the code would make the UK ‘a less attractive place to do business, which cannot be helpful in these most difficult times and will further damage the Read the Rest…

The Chartered Institute of Tax has issued a press release about the new Tax Code of Conduct for Banks, saying they welcome it, and: The CIOT’s initial view is that much of the code reflects good governance and the need for an open and transparent relationship with HMRC which we support. However, the CIOT would Read the Rest…